I need help with beans. I took some dry pinto beans in a pot with lots of water.

[rhett o rick]

Brought it to a boil for 3 minutes. The turned off the burner and let it set for about 6 hours. I drained the beans and put them back in the pot and added ingredients for baked beans. I baked the beans at 350 dF for about 3 hours and they remain hard as rocks. What am I doing wrong?

[ljm2002]

1. Did you salt the water before boiling them?

I have read that you should not add any salt until the beans are mostly cooked, otherwise they may not soften at all.

Here is one site that talks about that:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-beans-on-the-stove-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-182717

Add Salt When Beans Are Just Barely Tender: Adding the salt at the beginning of cooking can sometimes prevent the starches in the beans from breaking down, so they'll be a little over-firm even after long cooking. The best time to add the salt is when the beans are almost finished cooking. When they are tender enough to eat but still too firm to really be enjoyable (aka, al dente), add the salt.

[rhett o rick]

2. I did not salt the beans. I just read that one needs to make sure the beans have begun to

soften before adding the ingredients for baked beans.

My water is soft to by the way.

[jaysunb]

3. Soak the beans overnight or at least for

several hours. Rinse them afterward and slow cook w/ a moderate amount of water, ( about 4 cups per 1/2 pound) for at least 2 1/2 hours. THEN do your baked bean trick.

[rhett o rick]

5. I will have to try that next time. Thanks. nm

[Warpy]

4. That should have been plenty of soaking time.

The "quick soak" method says to bring them to a boil and then let them sit for 20 minutes, drain, then cook.

Even at that, they do need liquid to cook. Pintos can need a lot of liquid and are more suited to simmering than baking.

You can probably salvage your bullets by putting them into a crock pot and cooking them overnight. Just make sure the whole business is a little on the soupy side.

[rhett o rick]

6. I will try but I read somewhere that they need to start to soften before

putting the ingredients in, esp tomato products. Now they are coated with bar-b-q sauce. I wonder if the will effect them ever getting soft.

[Warpy]

8. You do have to cook them forever, but they will soften

I usually say to hell with it and use the pressure cooker for pintos but I'm at high altitude.

I think the crock pot will likely do the job.

[zalinda]

7. This is a tip from a cook who has cooked

thousands of pounds of beans (Mexican cook). If you don't salt the water, you will have tasteless beans.

All beans should be cooked to medium state before using in any recipe. Why? Because some beans are dryer than others, believe it or not. It depends on so many conditions that having them cooked to a medium texture, will insure that they will be soft when cooked into recipes.

If you are making anything with acid in the form of vinegar or lemon juice or something similar it will make beans tough. I also avoid tomatoes because I don't know how much acid is in them.

http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/tipstricksforcooking/a/tip-dried-beans.htm

Z

[JayhawkSD]

9. How much water did you add at this step?

"I drained the beans and put them back in the pot and added ingredients for baked beans."

When making baked beans I soak them overnight, but the quick soak should make no difference. I drain them, add as much water as I discarded, cook at a simmer until the beans are soft, drain again, then add the baked bean ingredients and cook for a few hours at low heat.

Soaking does not soften the beans. Only cooking with plenty of water for a lengthy period of time will do that. The molasses, tomato sauce etc., that make the baked beans are not compatible with the amount of water which is required to soften the beans, so it is a three stage process.

[rhett o rick]

15. I will try that, but why soak them if it doesn't soften them? nm

[JayhawkSD]

18. Soaking rehydrates them.

They are dried beans. Cooking softens them. Ever seen a raw bean which has not been dried (dehydrated)? It contains water, but is very hard.

[OxQQme]

10. Mom used to joke

about using a needle to puncture each bean before soaking.
She claimed it broke the skin to let the inner part soften up.
Plus it allowed the 'fart gas' to escape.

[rhett o rick]

14. I like your Bernie Man sig. And I will pass on the needle trick. nm

[dem in texas]

11. Beans gotta be cooked in water first

Doesn't matter if they are soaked for a long time or not, but you gotta cook em for a while. Cook on stove or in slow cooker, anyway that works for you. Don't drown them with water, add water to cover, set heat to simmer, then keep an eye on them and add more water as needed. Don't put in salt until tender. Once tender, you can make the baked beans.

[rhett o rick]

13. Thank you. Does simmer vice boiling make a difference? nm

[JayhawkSD]

17. Absolutely yes. Never let beans boil. nt

[eridani]

12. I find that a pressure cooker speeds up the process considerably n/t

[rhett o rick]

16. Thanks. I haven't seen a pressure cooker since I left home a long time ago.

I don't eat much meat so I don't think I could use one.

[spinbaby]

23. The new ones are great!

The new automatic pressure cookers are incredibly versatile. I bought one last year and love it. Because they're very programmable, you can also use it as a slow cooker and a rice cooker, even a yogurt maker. I use mine for beans, oatmeal, hard-cooked eggs, and many other non-meat foods.

[MrMickeysMom]

19. I have been cooking pinto beans for years and years to make refried beans...

I wash, soak and change the water for a few hours before soaking them, sometimes overnight, but at least 5 hours.

I then rinse, and then put a large pot on with water that is enough to cover the top of the beans… I let them cook on medium low for about 3 hours and keep the beans covered with water, open, no lid.

This really gets them nice and soft for refries, so I think you'll get the same effect.

GAWD!… do I love pintos for refried beans!

[rhett o rick]

20. If they are to be kept covered with water, why cook them uncovered? nm

[MrMickeysMom]

21. I'd have to guess on that one, RoR...

I'd say (based on the "scum" that surfaces and that I ladle off), there's a lot of venting of gas producing stuff. I get my directions from the original Moosewood Cookbook. I've tried lidding things, and get residue, but with frequent changed water and open lid, the beans seem to cook better. Plus, did I mention not getting more of the gas producing stuff?

[rhett o rick]

22. I've been doing some research and rehydrating dry beans has to one of the most disagreed upon

subjects I've ever seen. Americas Test Kitchen recommends brining dry beans while others are strongly against adding salt during soaking. And this site: http://cookingfortwo.about.com/od/tipstricksforcooking/a/tip-dried-beans.htm they down play the need to throw out the soaking water. Seems to be quite a difference in opinions about this.

Thanks for the input.